Tag: FCC
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SpaceX seeks FCC’s OK to extend Starlink satellite service to vehicles, ships, planes
SpaceX’s Starlink antenna connects with a network of satellites to provide high-speed internet access. (SpaceX Starlink Photo) SpaceX is asking the Federal Communications Commission to authorize the operation of equipment extending the company’s Starlink satellite broadband internet service to aircraft, ships and moving vehicles. Commercial mobile services would represent a new frontier for Starlink, which…
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SpaceX’s Elon Musk and Amazon’s Project Kuiper stir up a war of words over satellites
The rivalry between SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is back in the news. (Musk Photo: TED via YouTube; Bezos Photo: GeekWire / Kevin Lisota) SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and Amazon’s Project Kuiper escalated a different kind of Star Wars today, over the orbital parameters for their rival satellite constellations. Musk complained…
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SpaceX’s Starlink satellite network wins $885M in federal aid for rural broadband
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lofts a set of 60 Starlink satellites into orbit on Nov. 24. (SpaceX Photo) SpaceX’s Starlink satellite network — which relies on hundreds of spacecraft built in Redmond, Wash. — has been awarded $885.5 million in federal subsidies to boost high-speed internet service to rural Americans. The awards are part of…
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After a boost from Bill Gates, Kymeta wins FCC’s approval for next-gen antennas
Redmond, Wash.-based Kymeta Corp., the mobile connectivity venture backed by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, says it has won the Federal Communications Commission’s blanket authorization for the operation of its next-generation u8 antenna terminal. Kymeta says the authorization marks a major milestone for the u8 terminal, which is currently in beta testing with commercial release scheduled…
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FCC chief seeks conditional approval for Amazon’s Project Kuiper broadband satellite network
Ajit Pai, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, speaks at CES 2020 in Las Vegas in January. (GeekWire Photo / Kevin Lisota) The Federal Communications Commission’s chairman, Ajit Pai, says he’s proposing approval of Amazon’s plan to put more than 3,200 satellites into low Earth orbit for a broadband internet constellation known as Project Kuiper…
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SpaceX wins FCC license for up to a million Starlink satellite broadband data terminals
An artist’s conception shows the deployment of SpaceX’s Starlink satellites. (SpaceX Illustration) After months of consideration, the Federal Communications Commission has granted SpaceX a license for up to a million terminals that would work on the ground with the company’s Starlink satellite constellation to deliver global broadband internet service. Word of the 15-year license’s approval…
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Amazon asks FCC to give swift approval to Project Kuiper satellite network despite SpaceX opposition
Multiple mega-constellations of satellites could take root in low Earth orbit over the next few years. (European Space Agency Illustration) Amazon fired its latest volley today in a back-and-forth debate over whether the company can proceed in an expedited fashion with its 3,236-satellite Project Kuiper mega-constellation for broadband internet access. Today’s 24-page letter to the…
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Amazon’s Project Kuiper and OneWeb raise the curtain higher on their satellite plans
An artist’s conception shows a OneWeb satellite in space. (OneWeb Satellites Illustration) Filings with the Federal Communications Commission are providing fresh details about the plans being laid by Amazon and OneWeb to set up networks of satellites for global broadband internet access. OneWeb, for example, is seeking FCC approval for up to 1.5 million ground…
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SpaceX wants to rearrange its Starlink satellites for faster broadband ramp-up
An artist’s conception shows the deployment of SpaceX’s Starlink satellites. (SpaceX Illustration) SpaceX is seeking approval from the Federal Communications Commission for changes in the spacing of its Starlink broadband satellites, in order to extend internet services to a wider swath of the United States on a faster timetable. “This adjustment will accelerate coverage to…
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FCC approves SpaceX’s revised Starlink satellite plan; first wave gets set for liftoff
A simulation shows how a 4,425-satellite constellation could be deployed for SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service. (Mark Handley / University College London) The Federal Communications Commission today approved SpaceX’s proposed revisions in its plan to put thousands of satellites in low Earth orbit to provide global broadband connectivity, clearing the way to start launching satellites…